Judge Lifts the Last Block on Ending Deportation Protections for 5,000 Ethiopians; DHS Says 'All TPS Terminations Are in Effect'

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston ruled on Tuesday that the administration may end Temporary Protected Status for more than 5,000 Ethiopians, lifting what Reuters described as the last remaining judicial block on DHS terminating a TPS designation. Murphy had blocked the action in April, finding DHS disregarded statutory procedures and gave a "pretextual" rationale, then kept a temporary hold after the Supreme Court's June ruling curtailing review of TPS terminations. He now rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the 1990 TPS statute gave only the attorney general, not DHS, the power to terminate. DHS general counsel James Percival posted, "All TPS terminations are in effect!"

TPS provides work authorization and protection from deportation to people whose home countries face conflict or disaster. With the last injunction lifted, the terminations across 13 designated countries now operate without judicial hold.

Murphy dismissed the statutory and other claims but said plaintiffs may continue litigating whether the termination was motivated by racial or national-origin animus in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Judges in cases involving South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia rejected the same statutory argument in recent days.